Steele

Plaintiff, Kitty Denny Steele (formerly Kitty Denny Dean Langmuir) (hereafter for convenience Wife), appeals from a judgment in favor of defendant, Frances J. Langmuir, personal representative of Kenneth M. Langmuir, deceased (hereafter for convenience Husband).

This is an action on a rejected contingent claim in probate in the amount of $157,800, payable $800 per month. The claim rests upon the provisions of a written property settlement and support agreement between Husband and Wife, which was approved by the interlocutory judgment of dissolution of their marriage. The judgment also directed the parties to cany out the executory provisions of the agreement.

The basic issue on appeal is whether the agreement qualifies under Civil Code section 4801, subdivision (b), as one providing, by reasonable implication, that Husband’s support of Wife shall not terminate upon his death.

The agreement at issue provides in pertinent part:

Discussion

I. The Admissibility of the Letter of Husband’s Counsel

Apparently during the negotiations between counsel for the parties leading up to the agreement at issue, Husband’s then counsel wrote Wife’s counsel a letter containing the…